Trader`s Lawyer Targets Fbi Agent

February 05, 1991|By William B. Crawford Jr.

An attorney representing a Japanese yen currency trader at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange urged a federal jury Monday to acquit his client, contending that a government investigation of the Merc was spearheaded by an FBI agent whose zeal had blinded him to the truth.

David J. Stetler, an attorney for Joseph P. O`Malley, charged that the agent had become ``an advocate`` in the investigation, putting ``a spin`` on his testimony that would assure convictions.

He said the agent arbitrarily activated a concealed tape recorder to capture only those conversations with his client that seemed sinister.

Later, Anthony Onseto, another attorney, assailed the testimony of several government witnesses, telling jurors that it was inconceivable that his client, Michael Sidel, would risk a successful trading career for a few illicit dollars.

Final arguments in the trial of O`Malley, Sidel and 10 other Merc traders and brokers entered their third week Monday in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge William T. Hart. The trial, which began in early September, is expected to be in the hands of the jury by the middle of next week.

Since the defense began its summations of the evidence, attorney after attorney has hammered away at what each contends are fatal failings in the government case. In asking for acquittals for their clients, they have charged that several former traders who testified for the government lied to escape prison and that FBI agent Dietrich Volk shaded his testimony to assure the successful outcome of the trial.

Using the alias Peter Vogel, Volk posed as a corrupt trader in the Merc`s Japanese yen pit for about 12 months in 1988 and 1989. While there, he wore a tape recorder beneath his trading jacket.

Noting that Volk had sole discretion over use of the tape recorder, Stetler said the agent ``decides what is to be heard in the courtroom, before any of the lawyers, any of you jurors, even the judge himself.

``He truly is the biggest advocate in this case. He played people off aginst one another. He baited people,`` Stetler said.